The Hungarian Civil Sector

Jag frågade min vän Gergö Benedek, permakulturaktivist och NGO:are från Ungern, hur han skulle
vilja beskriva läget för samhällsentreprenörer i landet.
Här är hans inblick:

The Hungarian civil sector is coming from a deep valley, and still has a steep climb ahead of it. The climb is hard and it’s easy to make mistakes which lead to sliding back down a little before you can take a hold and restart the ascension. Ten years of brutal communist opression after world war II, the subsequent revolution of 56′ and the countermeasures of the soviet empire after the beating down of the revolution, and then the everyday bargains and compromises the government made with it’s people to create a lifestyle, resembling a fake echo of western consumerism, known as ”goulash communism” devastated the threads and layers of civil society. The promise of freedom and peaceful wealth proved to be a hoax,  and resulted in the alienation of a major part of a whole new generation, as the last twenty years did not bring structural changes, and the divides between poor and rich are greater than ever. The recent democratic deficit the current government accumulates is a logical answer to the needs of the ”greatest minority”, the biggest chunk of the Hungarian society who can be described as chauvinistic, greedy,feeling forsaken, and getting bitter. So, if 1990 is a clear starting point for free democratic civil activism (Of course there were hiking clubs, sports clubs, cultural ”circles” in the socialist era, but it was easy to run into walls if your activities could have a political meaning), the first decade pushed the sector a bit further behind, as NGO’s were seen as either corrupt because of the laundry many of them were involved in, and/or  unprofessional. Civil action seemed (and for many, it still does) a sort of misbehaving, which someone whether does for because ”he is not fitting in his own skin”, as the popular expression goes, or for personal gains disguised as a social issue. But than the Internet happened. IT’s still not very common that a civil activity gets widespread media coverage or can have direct impact on political decisionmaking, but ”under the radar” small NGO’s basically reinvented themselves by now, it’s safe to say that better part of Budapest popular culture is run by active independents. The average university student is probably involved in some sort of civil activity, and probably knows someone from his age who is a member of an NGO. Mailing lists and Facebook pages make the communication and self-organisation easy, which is a big boost for a sector which has a lot of trouble finding funds. NGO’s keep their eyes on competitions 24/7. Direct funding of an NGO as a form of CSR is not very common. (major companies have their own NGO’s usually). It’s interesting to see that many of those who are working in NGO’s, volunteering or professionnaly, have became almost totally ignorant to politics and see the civil sector as a kind ”last resort”, where one can pursue the goals important to her, not just waiting for the local/global goverments to do something about those issues. There is a growing sense that though it is important to have dialogue with every party, it’s better to take matters in your own hands, even on fields supposed to be government-run. The scattered society created ”islands”, sort of safe harbors where people can be themselves and work towards their own agenda, and many of these islands have some sort of legal entity. Challenges are abound, times are interesting.